>Mozilla Firefox 4 Offers Streamlined Synch Setup

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The beta offers easier account and new device setup for Firefox Sync and expanded support for 3D graphics.Applications developer Mozilla announced the release of Firefox 4 beta, the latest version of the company’s popular Web browsing application. The beta offers easier account and new device setup for Firefox Sync, expanded support for 3D graphics in the browser and a revamped Firefox Add-ons Manager, among other features. The streamlined Firefox Sync setup is designed to make it easier to bring Awesome bar history, bookmarks, open tabs and passwords across a user’s computers and smartphones. Based on user feedback, Mozilla also made it much easier to setup Firefox Sync while still securing Firefox data with the same encryption.

In addition, Firefox 4 beta now supports WebGL for most modern built-in graphics cards, which is designed to make it easier for developers to create interactive 3D games, vivid graphics and new visual experiences for the Web without the use of third-party plug-ins. WebGL is an open standard for accelerated 3D graphic rendering on the Web that enables developers to build applications that until now required a user to install plug-ins. The revamped Firefox Add-ons Manager is now available on Windows, Mac and Linux and now add-ons update automatically with the Firefox Add-Ons Manager.

“Combined with our previous work to bring open HTML5 technologies for animation, video, and sound to the Web, developers can now create amazing experiences that are rendered directly in the browser, combining themselves with live data from the Internet,” wrote Mozilla’s Mike Beltzner. “We are working with the amazing community of add-ons developers to get the gallery of thousands of beneficial and fun add-ons ready to customize the features, look and functionality of Firefox 4 Beta.”

In October, Mozilla released its Firefox 4 beta 1 for Google’s Android and Nokia’s Maemo mobile platforms. It includes features familiar to users of Firefox’s desktop version, including Add-ons and the Awesome Bar, which displays frequently visited and bookmarked URLs. By tapping the Awesome Bar, users can access the Awesome Screen, which displays history, bookmarks and tabs.